Donald Trump is reportedly planning to send migrants to hotels in Rwanda that were built by Britain at a cost of over £700 million. The hotels, initially intended for the UK’s own migrant deportation plan, would house those deported from the United States.
Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, confirmed that talks between the country and the Trump administration are in the early stages. “Those are details that will be discussed at an appropriate time,” a Rwandan government official said, declining to comment further on the plan.
The UK’s previous plan to deport migrants to Rwanda was scrapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer shortly after Labour won the general election last year. The plan faced criticism and legal hurdles, including a last-minute interim measure by the European Court of Human Rights. Despite spending millions on constructing migrant detention facilities, barely any asylum seekers were sent to Rwanda under the Tory government.
Critics have raised concerns about Trump’s deportation policies, particularly his plan to send migrants to prisons in El Salvador, which some have labeled “hell on earth”. The new plan to use Rwanda as a deportation destination has sparked debate, with many questioning the suitability and humanitarian conditions of the facilities.
The plan is part of Trump’s broader efforts to overhaul the US immigration system, but its implementation and implications remain uncertain.